What the fuck is the Red Sox outfield going to look like next year?
Jaiden Tripi. Getty Images.What the fuck is the Red Sox outfield going to look like next year? Think about it. As of right now the Red Sox have Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida and Kristian Campbell all under contract and that's before the potential reunion between the Red Sox and Rob Refsnyder who you have to think will play for the team until he hangs it up and becomes a coach. That's not even mentioning rookie Jhostynxon Garcia. Kristian Campbell has a contract where he is making the baseball equivalent of $7.25 an hour for a decade and the Red Sox have come to terms with the fact that he is most likely an outfielder going forward (notably, he only played two games at second base at Triple-A after August 2) which puts the organization in a very awkward spot considering that even before Campbell was in the outfield mix, the Red Sox already had a billion fucking outfielders and a big fucking logjam to work through, a logjam that only became less of a problem more than halfway through the season due to injuries, and a freed up DH spot courtesy of the Rafael Devers trade.
If you weren't keeping count, that's six, potentially seven major league outfielders to take up three spots. If we're extending this to the bench as well, the Red Sox seem to love Nate Eaton who could also be in that outfield mix. That's eight guys for four to five spots. Simply not sustainable. The easy solution for most is to trade Masataka Yoshida in a salary dump and be done with it but with Campbell presumably coming up to take another outfield spot that alone isn't going to be enough. That brings us to the age old question that Red Sox fans have been asking themselves for well over the last year. Who else is getting traded- Wilyer Abreu or Jarren Duran? There are arguments to be made on both sides. One could argue that the style of baseball that Jarren Duran plays doesn't age well. He's going into his age 29 season while his fellow outfield compatriot Wilyer Abreu is three years younger and outclasses him defensively. Additionally, Wilyer hits for more power. On the other hand, Wilyer's ceiling doesn't touch Duran's and Duran also clears him by a mile in terms of base-running value. The real answer of who should be moved between the two should be whoever fetches the highest return. There is also a secret third option- if the Red Sox are in love with both Duran and Wilyer they move could be to simply GASP trade Kristian Campbell.
Winslow Townson. Getty Images.Now personally, I wouldn't go with this option, but there is plenty of merit behind the thought process. Campbell had a super hot start to the season where he went on a crazy BABIP bender before proceeding to seemingly get hurt and become statistically one of the worst qualified hitters in Major League Baseball. If we are in a situation where the Red Sox are feeling less confident in Campbell as one of the pillars of this franchise going forward, the time to move him would be now. All that being said, I suspect that this is probably not a likely direction for the team to go in. As the roster is currently constructed, I would have Roman be the left fielder with Ceddanne in center and Wilyer in right. Campbell rotates between left and DH depending on who needs a rest or the handedness of the opposing starting pitcher. In this scenerio, Duran is traded in a package that brings in an honest-to-god number two starter or in a package that strengthens the weaker parts of the farm. You could also get really crazy and trade both Wilyer and Jarren, then sign Kyle Tucker but with a lockout looming in 2027 and John Henry being on the side of a salary cap, I can't see a situation where he would willingly make a massive financial commitment for any longer than five years. Many decisions need to be made. Craig Breslow has been dragging his feet on this logjam since before the 2025 season even started. To quote Rafeal Devers "I think Craig Breslow should do his job".
